Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator - Forums

Hi all,

First of all sorry if this is a n00b question, I've searched google and couldn't turn up any information since this is an old socket. I've got a computer in my lounge hooked up to a projector, nothing fancy, maximum resolution is 800x600 for playing Gamecube titles on dolphin.

Here are the specs:
- Intel Pentium E6700 (Dual core 3.2GHz+2mb cache, 45nm 65w)
- Gigabyte G31M-Combo
- 4GB DDR2 RAM
- ATi HD5770
- 32GB SSD (primary) + 640GB HDD (storage)

I upgraded the CPU from a Pentium E5300 (Dual core 2.6GHz+2mb cache, 45nm 65w) to the Pentium E6700 which I had in the garage and noticed a bit of a performance increase.

I was wondering if upgrading to, for example a Core 2 Duo e8400 (3.0GHz 6mb cache, 45nm 65w) would provide a noticeable benefit to Dolphin's performance in my circumstances? The clock is slightly lower but it has 3x the L2 cache and SSE4 instructions which the Pentium E6700 doesn't. How about a Core 2 Quad with a lower clock but more cores?

I know socket 775 is old now but I've already got everything and if I upgraded would need to invest in a motherboard/memory/cpu which isn't worth it IMO for a basic emulator/multimedia box.

The computer is in the lounge in a TV cabinet so overclocking isn't an option (heat issues) and possibly Quad core would be an issue (lower clocks and heat but unsure which is why I'm asking)

Basically, C2Q with lower clock = better than C2D for dolphin? C2D = better than 775 Pentium with lower cache for dolphin? Best socket 775 CPU = ??

Thanks heaps

You're not going to be able to get much of an upgrade from that at stock speeds. You will likely see a bit of an increase going to an E8400 but how much is unknown. I would guess 10-20% just because dolphin is so cache heavy. A core 2 quad would likely give you similar performance since the lower clock rate would negate the small increase that the extra cores would give you.

Even if you did want to OC with a G31M you're going to have trouble. That's a very low end board and as long as you have decent cooling core 2 OCing is primarily limited by how much you can raise the FSB before your motherboard chipset becomes unstable.

The absolute best option would be a used core 2 extreme yorkfield which you would likely have to get off of ebay or a similar site. However those have a high TDP at stock. 130w if I recall.

You really need to upgrade your entire system.

Quote:C2Q with lower clock = better than C2D for dolphin?

Nope , Dolphin is a dual core application

Quote:I upgraded the CPU from a Pentium E5300 to the Pentium E6700

I see you wasted money there . E5xxx series are monster at overclocking
Why didn't you overclock E5300 to 3.6GHz ?

Quote:I was wondering if upgrading to, for example a Core 2 Duo e8400 (3.0GHz 6mb cache, 45nm 65w) would provide a noticeable benefit to Dolphin's performance in my circumstances?

Waste money the 2nd times

Quote:You really need to upgrade your entire system

THIS

admin89 Wrote:Why didn't you overclock E5300 to 3.6GHz ?

He explained why:

juzza Wrote:The computer is in the lounge in a TV cabinet so overclocking isn't an option (heat issues)

Thanks for the replies guys, got the e6700 for free, it was in my garage in my pile of old PC's. Can't over clock because it's a slim htpc case in my TV unit in the lounge so heat and noise would be a concern, as would aftermarket cooling solutions because they wouldn't fit. Was just wondering if dropping in a $50 e8400 or similar would be worthwhile. sorry I typed this my phone

Then just buy B75 micro ATX motherboard(70$) and Pentium Ivy Bridge G2120 @ 3.1GHz(80$) which is faster than E8400 @ 4.0GHz
Edit : forgot to add DDR3 Ram

If you did buy an extreme-series socket 775 chip, you'd likely end up spending more on it than you would on a new motherboard and modern processor. This is basically because there's no supply of socket 775 chips, so the price is driven up.

There's also the question as to if his mobo can even handle any fancy chips like that :p

@OP, I highly recommend checking your mobo compatibly list

ExtremeDude2 Wrote:There's also the question as to if his mobo can even handle any fancy chips like that

Why? It's a modern LGA775. It should be able to use any LGA775 cpu.

Also I'm pretty sure that there aren't any motherboards that can support core 2 duo/quad but not core 2 extreme. That just wouldn't make any sense. They're from the same generation of cpus! That would be like having a motherboard that supports core i3/i5 sandy bridge cpus but not i7s even though they use the same socket.

And if you need further proof his E5300 is from 2008 and that works fine.

So yeah I don't know where you got that idea from.

Because I've seen stuff like that before, just because it fits the socket doesn't always mean it will work

I'm surprised my mobo works with my CPU at all, I needed to do some fancy stuff and update the BIOS to get it to work